I think I understand 'Why do authors use social media?'

Happy New Year!
This is Satsuki.
Thank you for reading my articles,
commenting,
and following me
last year.
I was very happy.

I look forward to your continued support this year.

Well then, the year-end and New Year holidays are over, and I imagine many of you are already back to your regular work schedules.
Did you have a relaxing time?

I spent my time making osechi, making toshikoshi soba, and going to the first shrine visit of the year,just like a normal mother.

…On the surface, that is.

Actually, behind the scenes,I got hooked on a certain light novel author and was reading their e-books on my smartphone non-stop.
After reading a sample on a whim at the end of the year, I just couldn't stop.

While making osechi!
While simmering the toshikoshi soba!
While pretending to clean!
Even while waiting in line for the offering box at the shrine…!

I was reading non-stop with my smartphone in one hand.(I might get struck by lightning for this…)

And that is still ongoing.
It's not just with reading, but I have a personality where once I get hooked on something, I dive deep into it,so I probably won't be able to stop until I've read everything they've published…
I looked it up, and the author has about 30 books published. I've just started the 27th one.

They write stories that are very much to my taste, and every single one iswonderful.
It's no wonder they are popular.However, now that I'm almost finished reading everything, a thought suddenly occurred to me…

Will this person continue to write in the future?

That is the anxiety I have.

Please don't say it's an unlucky thing to say, just listen to me.

This is a bit of a tangent, but I love a novelist namedMari Ueza.I first read her work when I was a university student.
I immediately fell in love with it,
read all of her novels, and looked forward to new releases.I still read them repeatedly.
However, as many of you may know, she passed away due to illness in 2015.

When I found out she had passed away, I was very shocked.
Once again, I realized that
novels can only be read if the author writes them.It's obvious when you think about it, isn't it?But somehow, I had thought that


new books would just keep coming out forever.When I thought that Ueza-sensei's passing meant no more new books would be released,I was so sad and lonely that I couldn't read books for a while.

So this time, I was curious and thought, maybe I should check the social media of the author I'm hooked on?It's been a long time since I've liked someone this much.

Will there be new books in the future?

Are they even still working as an author?

I was curious.
Speaking of social media, there's Twitter X.X is a bit difficult for me because information flows like a river, making it hard to see, so I don't look at it unless necessary, but when I checked,

that author had an account.

They were tweeting various things, looking well, and they even said,a new book is coming out soon.Isn't that amazing?

Thank goodness!!

And what's more,'I'm working on the manuscript starting today'they even tweeted that…!

That means I will be able to read a new work at some point.

I'm so grateful!!

Wow, I'm so happy and excited! I thought, and then it hit me.

When an author says'I'm working on the manuscript'on social media, it isa message directed at the readers!Until now, I had seen authors write things like 'I'm starting on the manuscript now' on note or social media, and I thought it was

something like a report to their editor.

Like, 'I'm working properly, you know…'

When editors see that,I wonder if they feel relieved thinking, 'That person looks like they'll make the deadline.'...is what I thought.

So, since I don't use social media, I thought,maybe I need to report my progress in another way?And so, I would sometimes send an email saying,
'I'm working on the manuscript properly. I will submit it by the deadline.'as a way of reporting.

That wasn't it at all!

Those words were meant for the readers, weren't they?
It's true that when I see an author I support tweet, 'I'm working on my manuscript,' I get

super happy,
my excitement levels go way up,
and I feel mentally at ease.

I see, I see.

I thought it wassuper embarrassingthat I had misunderstood and was reporting via email, but regardless,I thought social media is a really great tool.I thought.

I have the impression that there aren't many readers looking at my Note, but I thought it would be nice if I could tweet about my progress from time to time from now on.

As you know, right now I amobsessed with books.I plan to start working on my manuscript after I finish reading three more.

However,my new book comes out the day after tomorrow.Please let me announce that next.
See you later~